Research project

Sex, Care & Robots

Sexuality is a fundamental part of being human. Yet, for many people with disabilities, it remains overlooked, unsupported, and surrounded by stigma. NWO-VIDI Sex, Care & Robots confronts that long-standing neglect with a project that envisions an urgent yet straightforward future: one in which sexual rights are recognized, respected, and realized—for everyone.

Duration: 2026 - 2031
Contact: Eduard Fosch Villaronga
Funding: NWO VIDI Grant

Sexuality is a fundamental part of human dignity. Yet, for many people with disabilities, it remains overlooked, unsupported, and surrounded by stigma. Despite international recognition that sexual rights are human rights, persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to intimacy, pleasure, and self-expression — both in policy and in practice.

Sex, Care & Robots explores how law, care, and technology can work together to support these rights. By addressing the silences around sexuality and disability, the project aims to reimagine what inclusive, dignity-centered care can look like in the 21st century.

Research objectives

This project investigates how the sexual rights of persons with disabilities can be meaningfully realized through coordinated change in law, policy, and technology.

The main objectives are to:

Document and analyze lived experiences of persons with disabilities regarding sexuality, intimacy, and pleasure, identifying barriers and needs.
Map and critically assess international, EU, and Dutch legal and policy frameworks to understand how sexual rights are recognized—or neglected—in disability and health law.
Examine the potential of assistive and sexual technologies to support intimacy and autonomy, and define the ethical, legal, and design conditions for their responsible use.

Together, these objectives will inform inclusive care practices and technology governance models that uphold sexual rights as an integral part of human dignity.

Methods

The project uses a participatory and interdisciplinary approach, combining:

Empirical research: surveys, interviews, and participatory workshops with persons with disabilities;
Legal and policy analysis: comparative review of international, EU, and Dutch frameworks and case law;
Technology assessment: evaluation of assistive and sexual robotics and their potential role in care;
Co-creation and stakeholder engagement: collaboration with disability organizations, policymakers, and technology developers.

The research is guided by a Theory of Change methodology — tracing how change can occur across systems and identifying practical levers for inclusion and justice.

Scientific contribution

This project builds the first structured, interdisciplinary research agenda on sexual rights and disability within the context of law, care, and robotics.

It contributes to:

Disability studies and health law, by articulating how sexual rights can be realized in practice;
Science-for-tech-policy scholarship, by providing empirical evidence for inclusive policy design;
Human–robot interaction research, by exploring the ethical and social dimensions of assistive sexual technologies;
Innovation governance, by demonstrating how technology can serve justice, dignity, and inclusion.

The results will inform policymakers, care providers, and technology developers through publications, policy briefs, inclusive design guidelines, and educational toolkits.

Background reading

Sex, Care & Robots builds on previous research exploring the opportunities robotic technologies offer in supporting intimacy.

Funding

The Sex, Care & Robots project is part of the research program VIDI which is (partly) financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under the grant number VI.Vidi.241R.029.